Redemption Installment 3

DISCLAIMER: this will seem "political" at one point, possibly, but it's NOT. the meaning will be seen at the end, do not assume I am bashing people or cultures, I am simply writing a story. the end will show you what i mean by the whole.
Also, grammar will not be perfect. this is all a first draft. who knows how I may change things in the end. you are blessed to see my messy beginning. ;)


*See my posts Redemption Installment 1 and 2 for the beginning of the story.




The man held up a hand to silence her. “We have obviously upset you,” he said in that grainy, mechanical voice. Joanne shivered. “We must beg your forgiveness and ask you how we can help you.”
Joanne stared at the man in complete and utter awe.
“Forgiveness? What can you do for me?” She shook her head. “I don’t get it. I almost killed your leader, and you’re asking ME for forgiveness?”
The light blue man blinked once, seemingly unfazed by her bewildered questions. “What exactly upset you? We must know that before we can do anything to help you.”
Joanne’s eyes filled with tired tears as she wished for some end to this nonsense. “Those two men, they said you were going to destroy Earth,” the light blue man actually reacted to this. His eyes enlarged, and he stiffened even more.
“This bothers you?” There was a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Joanne nodded feebly. “Of course it does, though I’m not sure I believe it. I mean, this whole thing is bizarre,” she tried to laugh but had to suck in a deep breath to prevent more tears from falling. “Can I just go home now, this is too much for me,” she pleaded with the blue man.
He made no reply, instead he hit a button on the table in the room they had entered and clicked into the air. He paused and watched Joanne closely. “There will be someone here shortly to speak with you. For now, the mission has been cancelled.”
Though Joanne had no idea what he was talking about, his sudden change in mannerism was comforting. His mechanical voice seemed softer somehow, and she saw actual concern in his eyes. Perhaps it wasn’t for her, but it was good to know she wasn’t surrounded by a bunch of highly technologically developed but insensitive creatures.
A sudden jolt shook the room. Joanne screamed, her body hitting the long table in front of her hard. The blue man kept his balance and rushed to her side, lifting her gently and awkwardly. He let go of her quickly, his eyes probing into hers. “Are you good?” Joanne nodded, ignoring his bad grammar. “Then come,” he held open the door for her. “They are here.”
Joanne followed him to a room near the one she had first come from. A bit bewildered, she stood before a large steel door, imprinted with random symbols and what looked like numbers flashing by on a thin screen at eye level. Her escort pressed a button on the wall and clicked rapidly. The door shook and opened, revealing a huge gymnasium-like arena. As they walked inside, Joanne made the assumption that this was some sort of hangar; various small aircraft, or what she assumed to be aircraft, lined the walls which had huge doorways, some opened, some closed.
Feeling a bit like she was in a Star Wars episode, Joanne wandered down to the end of the hangar with the blue man. Not paying attention to where she was going, she bumped right into him and fell silently to the ground. Looking up, she gasped, as before her a ramp was lowered from an enormous spherical shaped, thing. There was no name for it but UFO. It was sleek and black, rounded like a ball, but much bigger than anything used for transport on Earth. Still on the ground, Joanne watched as these strangely colored people exited the orb in strict rows, two by two, as if exiting the ark. The first people to exit were a light red color, almost pink, and as more came the shades of red became darker, like a box of crayons with varying hues. After red came blue, and soon the blues appeared almost black from afar. Then, there was a lull in the movement, and everyone grew still, eyes focused on the empty ramp.
All that was missing from the moment was dramatic music. A woman, dressed in black robes, with skin the deepest, shining blue imaginable, walked elegantly down the ramp, her head held high, her eyes focused straight ahead. Every knee hit the floor as she walked past, every head was bowed, and the very air held still as she walked past. Joanne looked up awkwardly from her position on the ground as the woman approached her. When her feet were inches from Joanne’s face, the woman stopped and gazed down at her with powerful gray eyes. Joanne swallowed hard, scrambling to get up into the standard kneeling position she guessed was necessary to take in this woman’s presence. But before she could complete the maneuver, the woman before her had whisked gracefully into the very position Joanne had been attempting to make. Startled, Joanne glanced around her as a rustle of bodies moved to mimic the woman’s. Joanne crouched awkwardly, gawking at all the people bowing to her. If she hadn’t been so confused and upset about everything going on, it would have been almost comical.
Random, urgent clicking awoke her from her reverie. The dark woman had begun murmuring unintelligible things at her. Joanne shook her head, trying to let her know that she didn’t understand a word, or click, she was saying. Confused, the woman looked to the blue man who had led Joanne here, who clicked rapidly to her. Nodding, the woman rose and offered Joanne her hand. The woman’s grip was strong and firm, but her hands were small and smooth, Joanne wondered what sort of position she held for these people.
In a commanding, but smooth voice the woman said, “Come, we have much to discuss.”